Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Falls 6% Following Disappointing Phase 2a Study

Shares of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRWD) fell more than 6 percent early Tuesday morning after the company announced disappointing top-line data from an Phase 2a study.Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stated that top line data from its Phase 2a clinical study of IW-9179 in diabetic gastroparesis did not meaningfully reduce the severity of symptoms among patients when compared to a placebo. The company did however add that its therapy was generally well-tolerated with the most common adverse event being diarrhea, which was mostly mild to moderate in nature.Irownwood Pharmaceuticals added that it will discontinue development of its therapy and lans on focusing on ongoing programs in 3 key franchises, including irritable bowel syndrome, vascular and fibrotic disease, and refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease."Our mission is to bring innovative medicines to patients in need, and exploratory trials are designed to help us identify the investigational medicines and appropriate indications with the most potential to help patients," said Mark Currie, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and president of research and development at Ironwood. "While these data indicate IW-9179 does not warrant advancement for gastroparesis, we recognize gastroparesis as a severely underserved disorder, and we want to extend our gratitude to the patients and health care professionals who participated in this study."